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Mullaghmeen is the highest point in Co. Westmeath but, at 261m, it has the distinction of being the lowest of all the county tops in Ireland. A walk to its summit is described in Paul Clements' book The Height of Nonsense (147-53). The hill also gives name to the townland (par. Foyran) in which it is located.
Mullaghmeen is the 1252th highest summit in Ireland. Mullaghmeen is the highest point in county Westmeath.Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/

Turn off the country lane at N48160 77460A and enter a well kept Coillte forest.
Park in the large carpark. Time to complete , 1 hour .
There are 3 developed walking routes here. A variation on the Red route will get you to the summit. Follow the track to N47016 78953B, then to N46758 79127C and turn right uphill to gain the treeless summit. Cross the summit and follow the track downhill to N47424 79131D, following any of the tracks here downhill will take you back to the carpark.

Fine views from the summit across Lough Sheelin but its the airy, peaceful light of the Beech forest that makes this a truly special place. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/comment/5809/

Picture from wicklore : A pleasant walk through Western Europe's largest beech forest

Picture: A pleasant walk through Western Europe's largest beech forest

wicklore on Mullaghmeen, 2009

by wicklore 29 Jul 2009

Mullaghmeen is the lowest county top in Ireland, but is situated in a vast area of forestry that includes the largest plantation of beech trees in Western Europe. The forestry alone makes this a worthwhile visit, and there are a number of historical curiosities on the hill also

You won’t find Mullaghmeen without a good map. From Dublin I headed to Mullingar, then took the R394 road to Castlepollard. From there you need to use the OS map to get to N489 780E and take the turn onto the minor track. This leads to a well developed car park with information boards, and a variety of colour coded walks. Follow the Red Trail for about 1 ½ km’s, and take the signpost marked ‘Cairn’. This leads to the summit, and from the car park you should be there in less than half an hour. Because there are two ‘tops’ to Mullaghmeen, make sure you are at the right one! While Mullaghmeen is covered in trees, the summit area is treeless, and gives excellent views in all directions, especially out to Lough Sheelin to the north. There is a pile of stones at the summit which I thought at first was discarded lumps of cement. However these are actually the remains of the summit cairn.

There are a variety of other things to see on your ramble around the forest. There are the remains of Flax Pits, Famine Fields, and a Booley Hut. (A Booley Hut is apparently where farmers lived on a seasonal basis while tending livestock, but I’m open to correction on this). These are all signposted and add quality to what is already a pleasant walk through the woods.
For such an out of the way hill, Mullaghmeen offers a lot more than many of its larger peers around the country. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/comment/3972/

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Geo on Mullaghmeen, 2009

by Geo 29 Jul 2009

Just as an additional info to wicklore's excellent comment on Mullaghmeen, you may be interested in using http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie/?id=53&rec_site=57 to get a general overview and a site map. Also on this page you can download a local map to help find your way to the forest using http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/maps/pdf/location_maps/Mullaghmeenlocmap.pdf
A lovely place for a ramble with family and /or canine friends. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/comment/3973/

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Correction to gridref

by csd 9 May 2010

Just a quick correction to the grid ref in wicklore's comment: the turn-off is actually at N48156 77465F. Taking the turning at the other point brings you up a rough farmer's track! Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/comment/4695/

Climbed this back in November 2008 as part of my 'county high points' ongoing task. Can be combined with a visit to Loughcrew in County Meath and Corn Hill in Longford, all of which are perfect for young children. As wicklore pointed out, the biggest problem is finding Mullaghmeen itself - I spent quite a bit of time being directed from Castlepollard to Oldcastle and back in my bid to find the forest park. On reaching Mullaghmeen, it's quite easy to see why it goes unnoticed - it's covered head to toe in trees and blends seamlessly into the surrounding countryside given it's lowly height of just 261 metres. Wicklore gives directions to the summit which was in an area of felled and recently replanted forest. The summit itself was marked by a scattered cairn in which was placed an elongated stump of one of the felled trees. Good views from the summit of the large expanse of Lough Sheelin. Our short stay was memorable for a conversation overheard where a chap from Dublin told his son that the hill in the distance was 'Croagh Patrick, the second highest mountain in Ireland.. I climbed it years ago.. was a beast of a thing'. When the obvious question came from his son as to which was the highest mountain, he answered 'dat's an east one dat.. everyone knows that it's the Sugarloaf'. At this point I had to nudge my daughter who was bursting to share her knowledge of mountains gleamed from her recently acquired love of mountains and hills. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/comment/3974/

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Picture from csd : The view north to Lough Sheelin, from the summit of Mullaghmeen

Picture: The view north to Lough Sheelin, from the summit of Mullaghmeen

A Coillte forest like no other

by csd 9 May 2010

A hidden gem! Taking the turnoff noted in my other comment leads you into a Coillte forest like no other I've seen in Ireland. Instead of the usual serried ranks of dull conifer, the skilled navigator (you really do need a map to find this place!) is rewarded by a wonderful scattering of beech trees, the like of which probably covered large parts of the island up until the middle ages. wicklore's wonderfully evocative photo captures the dreamy ambience created by light filtering through the green canopy as you make your way to the summit area, so instead of repeating that I've chosen a summit view.

The summit area itself is a bit scruffy, betraying its history of being felled and replanted. That said, the views are wonderful, especially north to Lough Sheelin. If I hadn't been on a mad three county-top dash I'd have spent much longer in this amazing forest. Definitely one I'll be returning to. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/1050/comment/4699/